Summertime Fun with Friends

This summer we joined a playgroup hosted by my friend Stephanie. Until we can get more recruits, it normally consists of: Stephanie and her boys, her sisters and their boys and me with my boys. :) It's so fun to have all these little boys the same age running around every week! We have gone to Ellison Park in Monticello, Otsego Park, and "The Fountains" in Elk River so far. Next week we plan to go to an Apple Orchard! What fun!! Here are some pictures of our adventures:

Peter at the playground

Sleeping David

David and friend Jude who was born at 25 weeks! He has come such a long way...yay!

Peter and Samuel playing with bubbles.

Elizabeth helping Peter with bubbles

Fountains!

Peter, Levi, Micah, Samuel

(note the love of the cone...)

And more love...

The best we could them to all look! :)

All the babies at Otsego Park: 

??? (Help! I can't remember her name!), Elizabeth & Jude, Me & David

Sweet babies

4th of July Weekend

Over the Fourth of July, we went to my parents' cabin. David was 9 days old! :) Think I must have been crazy...but really...it was either sit around at the cabin with family who can help entertain a toddler, or sit around at home, alone.

We had a lot of fun, and many visitors all weekend. My personal favorites for the weekend were the St. Joseph parade on the 4th (we STILL have candy from it!) and the fireworks.

David and neighbor Nick

Peter and Uncle Rick

Cousins Carter and Morgan with David

On a boat ride!

Boatride!

Auntie Keri and cousin Morgan on the boatride

At the parade!

Our second family picture...awww...

Dad and Peter

David sleeping his way through the parade...in his 4th duds!

Super cool Coborn's cart float

"Riding" the 4-wheeler that the parade official deserted right in front of us. (Sorry for cutting off your head, Luke)

Oops! He's back!

David and Uncle Ben napping

Lunch at the cabin

Say Cheese!

And We're HOME!

First time in the car seat - he was so tiny that we couldn't tighten the straps enough!

First visit from "Uncle" Jamisen and "Auntie" Jenny

My two boys. Love them!

First time holding the new baby...

Enough now, Mom!

Getting a little sun for that jaundice.

Cousin Heidi over for a visit.

My sons have the best daddy in the world! Love you!!

David Louis Willing

Wow! I can't believe (well, okay, I actually can) it has been almost three months since I have posted anything! Guess my life did get a bit busy when David was born! So, in case you haven't heard the news:

David Louis Willing

born on June 25, 2010 at 12:50pm

7 lbs. 13 ozs. 21" long

Five days early!! Yahoo!!!!!

Okay.

Labor and delivery are sort of funny experiences. Well, just in one sense: they're different. The first time around, you have no idea what to expect. At all. No videos, classes, books or friends can really equip you for what will happen, or might happen. Then the second time around, you think you know how it will go. But each and every baby is different. 

David came like this:

During the night my contractions started. I was sleeping poorly, but didn't know why until around 4:20am when I realized I was having contractions. Duh! So, I started timing them. 15 minutes apart. Not too strong. 

At 5:00 when Luke's alarm went off, I told him. He said, great! Just give me a call at work and let me know when you think you might need to go in. (Both of us were thinking at this time that it'd be an all day ordeal.)

At 6:30 when he should have left for work, we decided things were progressing faster than we originally thought (contractions about 7 minutes apart!), so he stayed home and we called my mom. Mom had to change her plans to drive out to PA for my uncle's funeral (Uncle Dave passed away very unexpectedly from a heart attack - our David carries his name). We felt badly, but what can a girl do? When a baby decides to come, it's time!

Around 7:00 we called the hospital to see when we should go in. Contractions 4-5 minutes apart, 1 minute long or longer, for at least an hour.

By 9:00 that was the case. We packed up, Mom took Peter to St. Cloud, and we headed to Mercy around 9:30.

On the way, we decided that if they sent us home, we'd go garage saleing. No sense in going all the way back home!

Once we got checked in a little after 10:00, they wanted to see how far progressed I was. I was fairly certain they'd send me home. No one thought I was too uncomfortable to be very far. Wrong! I was already dilated to 8/9cm!!! They told me not to move from the bed; ran to get a room ready for me and wheeled me down the hall. Luke and I were almost laughing! This was so easy so far!

The doctor broke my water around 10:30. By 11:00 or so I was definitely in more pain (understatement), so I asked for a little something to take off the edge...after two doses of that (don't think the second one did a blessed thing...), it was time to push!

Pushing...that's another story. I yelled. Just a little. But, a mere thirteen minutes after I started pushing, David was born! Yay!!!

Huh. That wasn't so bad!

One proud momma!

                                                      

One mad little baby!

7lbs 13ozs

One proud daddy!

"Auntie" Sara was the first visitor!

Precious little baby...welcome!

Our first family shot...not too great of one!

Grandma and Grandpa Prigge. :)

Wow. Look at all those cars! Peter loved looking out the window while munching on his apple.

Uncle Pat and Cousins Josh, Elle and Sophia

Cousins Elle and Sophia with Auntie Chrissy

Grandpa and Grandma Willing

Auntie Kerri

Life Before Baby #2

We are quickly approaching the due date of baby #2! Where did the past 9 months go? My little baby will soon be a baby no longer. Oh, my.

This past month has been a busy one. We celebrated Memorial Day with my family at the cabin, I turned 32 (!!), Luke and I went to our first Twins' game at the new stadium (we got the folding chairs row, which was nice, but when we got there, Luke's chair was missing!), Luke and I went on our first overnight getaway without Peter and this week I've been working at VBS as a craft teacher for 1st graders. Hopefully this weekend I can get some strawberries picked and jam made....guess we're trying to cram in as much as we can before our family grows!

Peter used to not put up a fight at bedtime, ever, unless something was wrong. But ever since Memorial weekend....I guess, as my aunt Chrissy said, we've entered another stage of parenting! He continues to be both a charmer and a determined little guy. He is what we prayed for. And we couldn't love him more!

Wearing (soon-to-be-Auntie) Brittany's sunglasses

Getting his first haircut with a clippers - much easier than with a scissors!

Memorial weekend - the kids found a turtle...sadly, it turned out to be a snapper!

With his beloved Grandma Prigge

Wearing daddy's boots! (he loves trying on our shoes)

And he loves vacuuming, still!

Hamming it up for the camera. (I think he was proud that he fit into this box!)

Wearing daddy's boots again!

One day he brought this grossly stained gray sweatshirt to me to put on him. And then awhile later he was dragging the blue one around trying to put it on, as well. Funny boy.

OUR GETAWAY WEEKEND!

At Fisher's Club in Avon for dinner. Yummy!

The beautiful gardens at the B&B we stayed at - The Pillar Inn in Cold Spring.

There's the B&B in the background. Nice smile, honey. :)

More gardens.

The beautiful wrap-around porch.

The sign with a very pregnant me!

Above and below: The Pillar Inn. Such a beautiful place!

Above and below: our super luxurious bathroom. Really, I loved it! I haven't taken a bath in years!!

One shot of our room. It was called the Casablanca Suite. Decorated from the era of the movie of the same name! (We were packing up to leave when I took this pic.)

Luke in front of the historic log cabin in Cold Spring.

View of our room from the bathroom.

Historic granite chapel in Cold Spring.

Flowers (columbine, I think?) at the chapel.

VBS 2010

Craft, day #1 (creation)

Craft, day #2 (Moses and the burning bush)

The kids' mobiles from Monday

The 13 squirrelly 1st graders working on craft #3 - button frames. They did not tie into the story at all. :)

The beautiful sheets that were on our bed at the B&B. I thought they were so pretty I took pictures so that someday maybe I can find some like them for our bed, too!